ALBANY, N.Y. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders said Thursday that a plan to address the $3.2 billion deficit, which eluded Tuesday's special session, is targeted for approval early next week.
To achieve that plan, Paterson and his budget officers have resorted to separate negotiations with Assembly and Senate leaders and their staffs to seek agreements on politically treacherous cuts to school aid and health care.
A good-government advocate says the process shows how much power lobbyists and special interests have in the Legislature.
Failure to address the deficit could mean New York won't be able to pay its December bills which would likely trigger a costly downgrade in credit and a slide into the deeper fiscal crisis that nearly a dozen other states are in.
``It's about saving our house,'' Paterson said in a teleconference Thursday. ``Ideologically, my deficit reduction plan goes against everything I have fought for for 20 years'' to invest in education and health care.
``The one thing I'm trying to do right now is to save the state.''
Senate Democratic leader John Sampson of Brooklyn, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of Manhattan and the Republican minority leaders said they are working toward a deal that could be voted on in extraordinary session Monday or Tuesday.
``We know we are extremely close, with respect to getting this deal closed,'' Sampson said. ``Unlike most people will report with respect to the media, we have been working hard.''
In the teleconference with leaders and reporters, Sampson said: ``At this point in time, I am opposed to any midyear school cuts, but we will continue to negotiate.''
Paterson, the only leader with direct knowledge of each side's proposals, said he is satisfied with the deficit-reduction measures provided by Silver.
Paterson said he and leaders are about three-quarters of the way to addressing the deficit. The biggest single item is the $500 million Paterson has already trimmed from executive branch agencies. They wouldn't disclose the rest.
But Paterson indicated he is reconsidering his proposal to cut nearly $300 million in aid to hospitals and nursing homes, because Senate Democrats showed him that would cost perhaps $700 million in matching federal funds. Paterson also said his proposal for a cap on future spending appears to be off the table.
Paterson defended his decision to deal one-on-one with legislative leaders, rather than in public meetings or closed-door talks with both sides. He said he promised not to reveal any leader's position.
``We found that when we were meeting together, everyone was kind of hesitant to make the first cut, feeling that they would be blamed for it, publicly and politically,'' Paterson said.
``It really is high time that we had leadership that was willing to stand up,'' said Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters. ``It's always about lobbyists and the money they give to the system to keep these guys elected.''
She said the process keeps the public from influencing decisions or knowing where their elected leaders stand.
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